Recycling & WEEE
Having a positive impact
We want to have a positive impact on the world we live in! Whether that’s by fundraising and donating to charitable organisations or by playing an active role in the local community through litter picking and beach clean ups, our work to make the world a nicer place to live is always a priority. This has been even more of a priority in recent years with electronic waste being one of the fastest growing waste streams despite most of it being able to be recycled to make new consumer products.
Packaging is a hot topic at the moment and, while it is essential to keep your new products safe, we actively recycle the excess cardboard, polystyrene and polythene (both coloured and clear) collected across our warehouses and stores. With cardboard currently making up 61% of all recyclable materials recovered from our locations, we have invested in our very own recycling centre in Thetford. Here, the materials are bailed in the compactors and sold on to be repurposed. So far, we have collected and recycled 178.13 tonnes of baled cardboard which roughly equates to an impressive saving of 3,028.21 trees and 5,705,600 litres of water as well as freeing up over 1,603.17 cubic yards of landfill space.
Focusing on our vans, we have improved the efficiency of our fleet with the help of Lightfoot whose telematics have helped us cut vehicle idling by nearly a quarter, lowering both emissions and fuel use.
In fact, it is so effective that we are currently on target to remove nearly one thousand tonnes of CO2 from the earth’s atmosphere over five years. This is equivalent to the amount of carbon captured by over a thousand acres of forest each year!
Aspiring to become as green a company as possible, we have added solar panels to our Ipswich and Thetford warehouses with a new, more energy efficient roof also being installed.
These solar panels have already made a big difference with our Thetford warehouse becoming self-sufficient. Using just a small percentage of the power generated, the excess energy is exported to the national grid. We have also installed six EV charging ports with one solely dedicated to our electric delivery van.
WEEE recycling
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations in the UK requires that all retailers of electrical goods assist in delivering a UK-wide collection and recycling system to encourage consumers to recycle old or unwanted electronic equipment.
There are several ways this can be done. You can either take the item to your local council recycling site, contact them to arrange a home collection of larger items (there may be a small charge for this service) or bring the item to one of our stores where we would be happy to help!
Electronics are one of the fastest growing waste streams and most of it can be recycled with parts reused to make new products. All electrical items sold now carry the 'crossed out wheeled bin' symbol as they should not be placed into the normal household waste.
Under the Waste Battery Regulations, we offer a take back scheme for all portable waste batteries and you can return these at any of our stores or service departments. Alternatively, you can find your local waste portable battery recycling facility at https://www.recyclenow.com. Most supermarkets and shops that sell batteries will have collection bins for used batteries as well as some town halls, libraries or schools which you may find easier.
You can find your nearest Hughes location here or feel free to contact us on on our Live Chat service if you are unsure what to do with your appliance.
Reasons to shop with us
